The present invention relates to a method for providing information and for communication in vehicles, especially in larger public passenger transportation vehicles. The present invention also relates to a system for carrying out the method.
As the development toward the information society proceeds, a constantly increasing number of passengers of private or public vehicles (such as rail vehicles or busses) carry electronic data and communication devices such as laptops, PDAs, or mobile radio devices with them. Using these devices, they communicate with external communication partners or use the most different services. In this context, the possibility to access the Internet over mobile radio networks is also increasingly used. Due to the technology currently available for this purpose, there are a number of limitations and disadvantages for the user. Thus, first of all, it can be established that, in general, the data transfer rate is still comparatively low. Because of this, downloading of large files or the use of streaming applications, such as audio or video, are only possible with restrictions. In addition, sometimes, considerable costs are incurred to the user.
On the other hand, in many cases, the technical possibilities offered by the devices mentioned at the outset cannot be fully taken advantage of used when used in a vehicle. Many of the devices are already provided with air interfaces for local wireless networks (WLAN or Bluetooth) via which they can communicate with other devices. Currently, however, there are no comparable interfaces present inside vehicles such as busses or rail vehicles. With regard to communication with external communication partners it can also be established that radio reception or, in the case of transmission, the transmission power that reaches the outside are strongly impaired or reduced because of the shielding effect of the vehicles, which act as a Faraday cage, or also because of metallized window panes by additional attenuation. Due to all these disadvantages, extensive use of the content provided over the Internet or exchange of larger data volumes are, in principle, not possible or at least do not make sense economically.